TRA annual report: exclusions from reassessment dominate BOE assistance caseload

Lisa Thompson, chief of the Taxpayer Rights Advocate (TRA) office, presented the TRA’s 2024–25 annual report to the board and summarized the office’s casework and service improvements.

Thompson reported the TRA completed 406 property‑tax cases in the fiscal year; 79% of those were valuation matters and 21% administrative. By district the completed case distribution was 29% District 1, 33% District 2, 18% District 3 and 20% District 4. In the valuation category, exclusions from reassessment made up 39% of workload; in the administrative category, data access and other issues were the largest share at 31%, followed by penalty cancellations at 29%.

Thompson highlighted exemplar cases: an intergenerational (parent‑child) transfer where a taxpayer received prospective relief but not retroactive relief and was directed to payment‑plan resources; a transfer between registered domestic partners; and a base‑year value transfer for a homeowner whose house was destroyed by fire, where conflicting county guidance required TRA intervention to clarify legal options under Revenue and Taxation Code §69.6 and §69.3.

"We explained the various base‑year value transfers available under law," Thompson said, noting the TRA directed taxpayers to published guidance (Publication 802) and to payment options for escape assessments where appropriate.

The TRA report also described administrative improvements: 64 form revisions adopted by the board on 05/28/2025 (26 in response to Assembly Bill 1879, which added R&T Code section 168.1 to permit some electronic filings), ongoing work on a standard agent authorization form for counties, and a work group led by Member Vasquez to address delays in issuing refunds after assessment appeals board decisions.

Why it matters: the concentration of cases on exclusions from reassessment—largely arising from Prop 19 changes—shows continued taxpayer confusion and administrative workload for the agency and county assessors; the TRA’s forms updates and outreach aim to reduce friction for taxpayers and improve consistency across counties.

Next step: the TRA will set the date for the statutory Bill of Rights hearing (historically held in August) and will coordinate public notice with the executive director and chair.